November 23, 2013

Saturday Spam: Random Swatch Spam

Hi guys! Today I have some random spam for ya. These are polishes I've either used for layering or have worn recently and just didn't feel like posting alone for whatever reason. I have a little bit of everything in terms of brands here, drugstore to cray cray high end. It's been a while since I did a random spam like this which, I'm actually kinda surprised I don't have more swatches for this post haha! Anyway...check out everything after the jump!

Arcane Lacquer Vast & Vague is a blue/grey base with a gold fleck shimmer along with white and neon green glitter. I really like this, that pop of green glitter is all kinds of fab, I wish I had been able to get a bit more of it on the nail! The formula was good, this was sheer at first but easy to build up to full opacity. I used 3 coats for the photos below.

Lighting: Shade

Darling Diva Love Don't Live Here Anymore is fine chartreuse glitter and purple hex glitter. This is my kind of polish, any kind of interesting combo that involves green is something I'm bound to like. This can be worn alone or layered...I prefer it layered. The formula was good, it wasn't thick and the glitter coverage is fantastic. I used 1 coat over Cadillacquer Pink Teddy Bear for the photos below.

Lighting: Shade

Lighting: Shade

Darling Diva Purple Rain is a purple holo with a strong blue shimmer. The blue shimmer in this almost gives it a duochrome like effect in lower lighting and it's nice and visible out in the sun also. The formula was good, it was nice and opaque and easy to work with. I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Dior Minuit is a dark burgundy with a strong fleck like golden shimmer. This polish was like ridiculously expensive, $26!! Normally I don't buy Dior, it's way out of my price rage...however I splurged and picked this up during the Sephora VIB sale. I just couldn't say no anymore, the color is so pretty for the holidays and the bottle is gorgeous. The formula was good, it was a nice consistency and easy to work with, even with the hard to hold tiny brush these bottles have. I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Icing Galaxy is blue and white glitter in a clear base. Icing had a few polishes like these in different color combs, they were calling them "splatter". Originally I wasn't going to get this but they always have some buy 1 get one 50% off sale there and I was buying the next polish so I was like oh what the heck and added this one. I like the glitter but the brush was pretty terrible, it was short and mop like...it was also cut at a weird angle and hard to use. I used 1 coat over Cadillacquer Yeah Science! for the photos below.

Icing Jean'ie In A Bottle is a light blue with a silver shimmer that dries matte. This is actually pretty similar to KBShimmer I'd Rather Be With Blue, I'm pretty sure I picked this up before getting that KBShimmer or else I wouldn't have gotten it haha! Nonetheless it's really pretty and the formula was nice so I don't regret it too much. I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Maybelline Amethyst Couture is a blackened purple base with purple hex glitter and gold microglitter. This is part of the Brocades Collection Maybelline put out recently, I managed to leave Rite Aid with only this one...that's some kind of miracle! I am loving this so of course now I regret only getting this one...such is life lol! The formula was fantastic, I thought it was going to be sheer so I layered it over Darling Diva Purple Rain but it ended up being pretty opaque, you can't even see the base color. I used 1 coat over Darling Diva Purple Rain for the photos below.

Lighting: Shade

Lighting: Shade

Nicole by OPI That's What I Mint is a teal texture. This is part of their Gumdrops collection, I don't know why this wasn't included in the original release of the Gumdrops but I found it at Target when they finally put out the display a while back. Is it just me or does anyone else wonder why this has "Mint" in the name...it's not really minty at all o.O. The formula was good, it was nice and opaque and easy to apply. I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Lighting: Shade

Below is That's What I Mint with top coat!

Revlon Elusive is a black base with blue glitter. This is another polish I picked up at Target not too long ago, I don't think I've actually seen it anywhere else unless it's just been sold out or something. I'm not sure if it was meant to be matte but it dried to a satin matte finish and I liked the way it looked so I added a matte top coat on top of it instead of a shiny one. The formula was good, it was nice and opaque and the black base didn't hide the glitter which was nice. I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Lighting: Shade

Lighting: Shade

Sally Hansen Triple Shine Make Waves is a light blue green duochrome. I finally came across the Triple Shine display at Bed, bath & Beyond a couple weeks ago and this was the only one that called to me, it's a little frosty but I still quite like it because the color shift is nice...it feels very mermaid-y to me. I have to say though, I hate the bottle. They are tall and the opening for the brush is kind of small considering how big the brush is so I kept feeling like I was going to tip the whole thing over every time I tried to dip the brush in the bottle. The formula was good, it was sheer but it builds up easily to be opaque, you could also layer this. I used 3 coats for the photos below.

Ok. Stop. Can we just have a moment of silence for that Dior bottle? ................. And it's maroon? *sigh*. I LOVE the gumdrops (and most of the liquid sands in general). I got them at walmart and thought the yellow and teal (right?) ones were canada exclusives till I saw them at target! I got the teal one immed (obvs) then grabbed the yellow one on clearance. The revlon green glitter? Awesome! Hello Christmas-in-a-bottle. I think I saw this somewhere and passed at first but I have a revlon coupon that is burning a whole in my pocket ;)

Yayayayay love random spams!! I really love polish the fields, I think this calls for me to be more aware of elevation polish, icing galaxy, that's what I mint and make waves (though I'll probably never be able to find it :/) :)

The first thing that came to mind seeing the 'Minty' name is spearmint or some kind of mint gumdrop. A stretch but I have seen darker colored ones. Am loving Maybelline's Amethyst Couture, and will definitely check out the Brocades Collection. Can't resist a blackened purple!

I love the look of Elusive, but I've been wearing it for just a couple of days and it looks weeks old. I've never seen this many chips this fast. It's a shame, because it's so pretty, but it's a reminder of why I rarely buy the drugstore brands.

I ended up picking up 2 of the new Sally Hansens. I got Bait Me - a greyed out shimmery white; and Fanta-Sea -a minty blue and silver fine glitter polish. And I had the same issue with the wide brush/ narrow opening. And I LOVE Darling Diva polish! I have almost 20 of them. Did you see her new Diamond collection? Very vivid, saturated colors with a light holo- so pretty! My friend actually met Carrie (Darling Diva creator) a few days ago. They went to lunch and polish shopping! I was definitely a little jealous! lol :)

I had a similar experience with Elusive...but I love it too much to give up on it. After seeing the swatch here I will try again. I'll also add my Essie Matte coat to see if that makes an improvement. I so love this polish - the teal glitter in the black polish, so pretty.